P-15 Questions & Answers on Sponsorship

[Pages:32]Questions

o&n Answers

Sponsorship

This is A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature.

Alcoholics Anonymous? is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. ? The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. ? A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. ? Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

Copyright ? by AA Grapevine, Inc.; reprinted with permission.

Copyright ? 2017 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

Updated June 2019.

All rights reserved.

Mail address: Box 459

Grand Central Station New York, NY 10163



250M ? 06/19 (Ripon)

Questions & Answers on Sponsorship

3

Contents

Contents

What Is Sponsorship?

7

For the Person Seeking a Sponsor

How does sponsorship differ from

Twelfth Step calls?

8

How does sponsorship help the

newcomer?

9

How should a sponsor be chosen?

9

Should sponsor and newcomer be

as much alike as possible?

9

Must the newcomer agree with

everything the sponsor says?

10

What if the sponsor is

unavailable when needed?

10

May a newcomer have

more than one sponsor?

10

May a newcomer change sponsors?

11

If a newcomer has received a thorough

course of treatment and indoctrination

in an alcoholism program outside A.A.,

will a sponsor still be needed in A.A.?

Is a special approach needed?

11

Is it ever too late to get a sponsor?

11

For the Person Wanting to Be a Sponsor

How does sponsorship help the sponsor?

12

Can any member be a sponsor?

12

When is a member ready for

sponsorship responsibility?

13

What does a sponsor do and not do?

13

Is there any one best way of

sponsoring a newcomer?

15

4

How can a sponsor explain

the A.A. program?

15

Should a sponsor recommend

hospitalization?

16

How can a sponsor work

with an alcoholic's family?

17

Should a sponsor lend money

to a newcomer?

18

Should a sponsor intercede

with an employer?

18

Can a sponsor be too firm?

18

Can a sponsor be overprotective?

19

Can a sponsor be too casual?

19

How can a sponsor handle an

overdependent newcomer?

20

How can a sponsor work with a

newcomer who rejects help?

21

When newcomers resist "the

spiritual side" of the program,

what can sponsors do?

21

How should a sponsor deal with slips?

22

Can a member sponsor more than

one newcomer simultaneously?

23

For Groups Planning Sponsorship Activity

How does sponsorship help a group?

23

What procedures can a group set up

to sponsor new members?

23

How may "outside" A.A. groups

help groups and members in

institutions?

25

Service Sponsorship

25

Summary

27

Twelve Steps

28

Twelve Traditions

29

Twelve Concepts

30

5

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What is sponsorship?

Alcoholics Anonymous began with sponsorship. When Bill W., only a few months sober, was stricken with a powerful urge to drink, this thought came to him: "You need another alcoholic to talk to. You need another alcoholic just as much as he needs you!"

He found Dr. Bob, who had been trying desperately and unsuccessfully to stop drinking, and out of their common need A.A. was born. The word "sponsor" was not used then; the Twelve Steps had not been written; but Bill carried the message to Dr. Bob, who in turn safeguarded his own sobriety by sponsoring countless other alcoholics. Through sharing, both of our co-founders discovered, their own sober lives could be enriched beyond measure.

What does A.A. mean by sponsorship? To join some organizations, you must have a sponsor -- a person who vouches for you, presents you as being suitable for membership. This is definitely not the case with A.A. Anyone who has a desire to stop drinking is welcome to join us!

In A.A., sponsor and sponsored meet as equals, just as Bill and Dr. Bob did. Essentially, the process of sponsorship is this: An alcoholic who has made some progress in the recovery program shares that experience on a continuous, individual basis with another alcoholic who is attempting to attain or maintain sobriety through A.A.

When we first begin to attend A.A. meetings, we may feel confused and sick and apprehensive. Although people at meetings respond to our questions willingly, that alone isn't enough. Many other questions occur to us between meetings; we find that we need constant, close support as we begin learning how to "live sober."

So we select an A.A. member with whom we can feel comfortable, someone with whom we can talk freely and confidentially, and we ask that person to be our sponsor.

7

Whether you are a newcomer who is hesitant about "bothering" anyone, or a member who has been around for some time trying to go it alone, sponsorship is yours for the asking. We urge you: Do not delay. Alcoholics recovered in A.A. want to share what they have learned with other alcoholics. We know from experience that our own sobriety is greatly strengthened when we give it away!

Sponsorship can also mean the responsibility the group as a whole has for helping the newcomer. Today, more and more alcoholics arriving at their first A.A. meeting have had no prior contact with A.A. They have not telephoned a local A.A. intergroup or central office; no member has made a "Twelfth Step call" on them. So, especially for such newcomers, groups are recognizing the need to provide some form of sponsorship help. In many successful groups, sponsorship is one of the most important planned activities of the members.

Sponsorship responsibility is unwritten and informal, but it is a basic part of the A.A. approach to recovery from alcoholism through the Twelve Steps. Sponsorship can be a longterm relationship.

We hope that this pamphlet will provide answers to some of the often-asked questions about the rewarding two-way street called sponsorship -- for people who may be seeking sponsors; for A.A. members who want to share their sobriety through sponsorship; and for groups that wish to develop sponsorship activity (see What procedures can a group set up to sponsor new members? page 23).

For the person seeking a sponsor

How does sponsorship differ from Twelfth Step calls?

A Twelfth Step call -- visiting an alcoholic who has asked for help and talking about the A.A. program with him or her -- may become the beginning of sponsorship, but by itself it is not necessarily sponsorship.

Sponsorship, with its continuing interest

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